"That was my introduction to solid state. I'd already had some courses,
but I learned more in a few months from the other members of this group
about what was involved than in all of my previous education."-- Morgan Sparks

"Well at our wedding the thing I remember is [Shockley]
had somebody jack up the back wheels and leave it that way, with the wheels
off the ground. And in those days all cars were rear-wheel driven. So
when we got ready to leave. . . And the rice was thrown and all, and I
put it in gear -- nothing happened, except spinning our wheels."
-- Morgan Sparks

Morgan
Sparks

As scientists began to leave the Shockley group , they
were naturally replaced. Morgan Sparks was one of the men who joined
the group after the invention of the transistor. But he jumped right
in and led the effort to build junction transistors -- taking Shockley's
idea and turning it into a workable device. Working with Gordon Teal,
Sparks built most of the first junction transistor prototypes, concentrating
on figuring out how to grow the necessary semiconductor crystals.

Sparks grew up in Colorado and earned his Ph.D. in physical
chemistry from the University of Illinois, Urbana, in 1943. His first
job when he graduated was with Bell Labs. When Robert Gibney left the
semiconductor group in the spring of 1948, the group needed a new physical
chemist -- Sparks was transferred in.

Sparks got along well with Shockley, and worked closely
with him. Sparks also got along well with Shockley's secretary -- Bette
MacEvoy. The two socialized a lot with others in the group, and in 1949
they were married. Shockley was at the wedding; he'd gotten quite a
reputation for playing practical jokes at that point, and this was no
exception. He disabled the bride and groom's getaway car. Everyone laughed
as the Sparks tried to speed away and ended up just spinning their wheels
in the mud.

Although Shockley tried to entice Sparks to California
when he left, Sparks stayed on at Bell Labs, gradually moving up through
the ranks into management. In 1972, he was transferred to New Mexico,
as president of Sandia Laboratories, a national lab managed by AT&T.
Sparks retired from Bell in 1981.

________________________________________________

Morgan Sparks talks about Bell Labs' cooperation
in making the transistor available:
"It was quite different from other laboratories.
I think AT&T recognized that, as compensation perhaps for their
role as a monopoly, they had some obligations. And so the labs were
really very open. And, you know, the transistor, it took a few months
to get patents filed and things of that nature, and there was a bit
of a battle with the military, who wanted to keep it secret. And the
lab's attitude prevailed, and it was essentially thrown open. Licensing
agreements were offered to anybody in the world."

Morgan Sparks on Bill Shockley's need
for speed:

"Shockley definitely liked to drive a sports
car as he thought it should be driven, which is fast. And he, you
know, he made a few gestures to safety, in the best he could, as
long as it didn't interfere with speed. But he had a little bit
of, you know, the daredevil... You knowsomeday, I'm gonna
go someday, and I hope I'll be in charge, and not lying in a hospital
someplace from some illness. He didn't have a death wish, as some
people, I think, have indicated. But he enjoyed, ah... speed."